An ex-PE surfer, Barry White, got in touch and dropped us a coupla great old shots. Barry surfed in PE from the late 60's until about '79 when he moved to Cape Town. Given the article I just did yesterday about how good Fence used to be before the sand built up, it was kinda ironic that the first shot is from there - yet more proof of how good it was back then. He also had a few interesting words about the whole sand management debacle that clogged up Fence: "Have you heard of Joseph Lister? He was the guy that came up with the bright idea of seeding the dunes with Port Jackson to stop the harbor silting up in about 1883. There used to be a memorial to him across the road from the Bird Rock road house (± 7th Ave.) They built a railway line from just past Happy Valley into the dunes and dumped all of PE's rubbish on the dunes and then seeded them for about 10 years. When we were growing up in Summerstrand you could walk through the bush and pick up all kinds of old bottles, dolls heads and clay pipes." Road-tripping is not dead. Long live the road trip! Local crew Brad and Grant Beck, together with wingman Scott Lenton decided that a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert wouldn't be the same without some Weskus exploration thrown into the mix. The ou's had bought their RHCP tickets early - and as jol time approached they realised they were still on holiday. So what better to do that get some double whammy value out of their drive down to Cape Town. And being a bunch of goofy's, it wasn't hard to work out that the West Coast is the Land of Lefts. Goofy heaven on a stick. Being hard core guys, they pulled a 03h00 departure outta Seals, and had the Hannah & Scott Show for entertainment en route. Grant forgot his pillow, but realised he wouldn't need one when they found some R10 quarts at a random bottle store in the middle of nowhere! 200km of gravel road and they were in Elands. The goofy footers JBay. Swell started to pick up, and they hooked some waves at a spot called Farmer Burgers....cos well, it's on farmer Burgers farm. Geddit? They also found themselves a lil no-name-brand spot with some lekker waves, and dubbed that TG's (Toll Gate's). With water hovering between 13-16C, let's say it's been fresh - but our EC lads are tough. Chuck in some camping, lekker braai's every night, and you have just the perfect road trip. Next on the agenda is some cooking Elands...... Spotted a picture of you standing at Seals with a finless board! What’s the story there? First up, who shaped the board, and why’d he leave the fins off? Just couldn’t find his fin key?
DGS – Derek Girven Surfboards from Durban. Unlike a wooden Alaia this model has 5 stringers and a quadruple concave. Absolutely no rocker though. Not sure how the board came about. Is this the first time you’ve surfed fins-free? My first surf board ever when I was 14 had no fins, it was supposed to but someone had knocked the fins out! Since then it’s been fins all the way. It must feel kinda weird to be without those lil guys – take us through a wave, from take-off to kick-out... The first challenge is just paddling the board as it is only 1cm thick and has very little buoyancy. Once you get going the best is to take off sideways. Stand up normally but crouch really low like a body boarder would do standing up. Too far back and the tail slides out, too far forward and you nose dive. The board goes superfast down the line but don’t try pumping as this won’t generate speed. You kinda have to change your whole mind set on how to surf, it is a refreshing change. How does it handle the drops – you find yourself sliding out a lot? Being so flat you can’t paddle down the wave or you will nosedive. Sliding is a given, it’s how you control the sliding that makes it fun. Throw down any 360 spinners? Not intentionally and didn’t make any! The rails are so hard you have to be careful not to land on the rail as there could be some serious consequences. How’d you end up with the board to start with? I was at Alister Browns’ place in Seals discussing some board shapes. Next thing he pulls out the board and says I should give it a go. Not one to pass up a challenge, it took me a couple frustrating sessions before I finally made it to my feet. I did not figure I would use it much in Cape Town so have left it with Terry Billson who lives next to The Full Stop (pub not rock!). Hit him up if you are keen to give it a go. Alister has donated the board to “anyone who is brave enough to give it a go!” Other than Derek Hynd, have you seen anyone local rock on these things? DH claims to have not surfed a board with fins for 10 years! His boards have deep concaves that act as fins though. Remy Petersen inspired me to give a go. He was out at Supers on a 4’ day catching loads of waves and really having a good time. Surfing on his backhand at Supers he has the “going backwards in the barrel” pretty wired. I have heard that he puts in a lot of time though. Would you see yourself trying it again – or is it more like “OK, ticked that one off the list, move on...” kinda vibe? We had so many waves at Seals over the holidays that I figured it was worth a bash. I will definitely put some more time in when we are back at Easter when the waves are small and soft. Any chance of ever trying it out in Indo!? A: I wouldn’t go so far as to schlep one over but if there was one on the boat I would put some time in. Not at HT’s or any of the recognised breaks as you don’t make any mates on an Alaia when you blow take offs! Not as bad as a SUP’er though! So there you have it ou's - you wanna go finless like Chappy? Just go find Terry to borrow the board. The challenge is oooooon! Coupla ou's spent a lekker morning climbing and diving off the pillars at Hummies yesterday. Got me thinking whether the lighties even know what the history behind the pillars and the slipway is, versus being these random bits of concrete and steel. Seeing as school's back, let's have a quick history lesson! Before the harbour was built back in the 1930's, boats that needed to be repaired came in at what was then known as the Humewood Slipway. The boat would sail in between the pillars (which are the 6 concrete stacks you see today) and then get pulled onto the slipway (the steel bit) using a steam pulley. The slipway fell into dis-use after the harbour became established, but luckily for us they built things properly back then. Which means today the structures still exist - and contribute to making one of the best surf spots in the bay! (oh, and before it became a slipway - it used to have a hospital for ou's with leprosy!!) Humewood beach, taken from where Brookes Pavilion area and looking down towards where the beach and slipway is today. The building was a hospital for infectious diseases called the Lazaretto! Humewood Beach was as far out of town as you got in those days. The river is the Sark River (now called Shark) which was flowing through what today is Happy Valley.
FInally someone ou's started surfing! Check out the No Surfing sign. Humewood was a no-surf zone from back in the day cos of a municipal bylaw. Check the ropes in the top right of the shot- they used to run from the pylon across to the pole on the breakwater on the other side of the beach (where Suicides is today). There were ropes hanging down into the water from the main rope - there for guys to hang on to when they swam out!
If you grew up surfing in the 80's you definitely owned some Instinct gear. Originally established in South Africa in 1979 by World Surfing Champion Shaun Tomson, it was one of the most recognized surf brands throughout the 1980’s. Instinct was synonymous with surfing legends Tom Carroll and Barton Lynch, who were both team riders for the clothing label.
They also had one of the most innovative ad campaigns that we've ever seen from a surf brand. Who can forget their classic one-liner ad's like " It's simple, either you get the wave...or it gets you!" and "Waiting for waves is OK. Most people spend their lives waiting for nothing!" The brand suffered from the tail-off in the retail market in the 90's, but an attempt was made to relaunch it in 2006, although this was short lived. Pity - cos they would have been as relevant today as they were 30 years ago. Here's a quick look at 2012 - the good, the bad and the ugly. There were waves, there were wipeouts, we had flat spells that would make you go jump off a bridge, but then it also went off it's pip at times, there was rain - kak loads of rain, ou's did crazy things, peeps broke bones. Just another year of surfing in the Eastern Cape. Check it out!! JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberAnd that's the wrap on 2012 - see ya next year!Girl power ruled at Seals today, with the Billabong Girls Get out There team taking the beach by storm. Absolute beaut of a day - hardly any wind and some fun lil waves - perfect conditions for a day on the beach. The surf lessons were fully booked - which was pretty impressive considering the water was fresh from the Antarctic. A mild 14C - and no prob for the chicks - they were out there with Shannon and his crew just loving it. The Revlon nail bar was an absolute hit - with girls queuing up throughout the day. The creative corner was awash with lil 'un's just dominating the paints and crayons. Plenty of free giveaways had the crowds gathering, as did the sumo wrestling bouts. Free Vitamin Water kept everyone hydrated - which was a good thing cos it was a sizzling summers day. And hey - who doesn't love free stuff anyway??! The GGOT tour hits JBay tomorrow and Hobie Beach in PE on Wednesday - don't miss it!! I caught up with Billabongs Ladies Marketing manager Vangie Boettger to find out more about the Girls Get Out There event that's touring the East Cape beaches this week. Coming to a beach near you - be on it girls!! The Girls Get Out There events look super rad. First up, there’s free surf lessons on offer – can you tell us a bit more about those? We have 4 lessons a day with around 10 girls a lesson through 5 beaches along the Garden Route, so thats 200 new surfer girls in just 1 week. Girls can head down to the beach at around 9am in the morning where Shannon Anislie and our Billabong Girl Team riders will be giving lessons every 2 hours. Then there’s the Art Workshops….what’s that all about? We will have a creative corner at all 5 venues, whereby girls can there creative juices flowing, beading, sandart, painting and much more. I heard there was going to be yoga classes going down as well. How are those going to work – are they set at specific times, or will they just run throughout the day? It’s a combination of pilates and yoga, running every 2 hours. Our instructor, Amy Oakes from Ocean Flow Pilates, will be heading this up, showing the girls some key core strengthening exercises and stretches to prepare them for the surf sessions. And what about the rumour that there’ll be a nail bar!? Hard to beat a chilled day on the beach and you can also get your nails done at the same time! Girl Heaven!! Spot on!! Revlon will be on the tour with us. They will have a nail bar set up at each beach and Chi Chi, Revlons very talented manicurest, along with her team will be beautifying girls nails each and every day. Who all is part of the Girls Get Out There team that’ll be doing the trip with you? I have a team of 18 in total. 3 Billabong Girls Team Riders (Tarryn Chudleigh / Emma Smith and younger sister Gina Smith) all SA Champs. Shannon Ainslie and his surf coaches from Surf Life Surf School. Amy Oakes from Ocean Flow Pilates. Tasha Mentasti - current SA Womens Masters Champ and MC for the roadshow. Jean Du Toit and his team from Inner View, the amazing team from Son Surf and Lenny Perils and his hard working crew. So where can the girls catch up with the GGOT team?
15th Dec - Beacon Isla Beach, Plettenberg Bay 16th Dec - Santos Beach, Mossel Bay 17th Dec - Seal Point, Cape St Francis 18th Dec - Dolphin Beach, JBay 19th Dec - Hobie Beach, PE Local booger girl Pamela Bowren is flying the local flag in Venezuela at the ISA world bodyboarding championships at Playa Parguita in Margarita Island. The event starts Sunday 25 Nov and runs until 2 Dec. It will be live streamed and updated on following website: www.isawbc.com. So go check it out and cheer on Pam and the SA team.
ML had a quick chat to Pam to find out what was going down on the other side of the pond... "Generally awesome accommodation where we are staying and the weather is extremely hot here! 29/30 degrees every day and very humid. Waves are not the best at all - PE style waves although they do have some when it gets a little bigger. Food is interesting and all in Spanish. Our protein source is mince with potatoes/pasta/rice. Epenyadas are local food here -similar to a samoosa, but they are amazing. Beer is cheap and piña coladas go down well along the beach. Very chilled vibe and atmosphere here and it's a pity they waves aren't great!" Heard you just landed a killer job at Billabong – what exactly are you gonna be doing? I was extremely blessed to land the job as NATIONAL TEAM AND EVENTS MANAGER for GSM looking after brands, BILLABONG, ELEMENT, VONZIPPER, NIXON, KUSTOM, DAKINE, XCEL, SECTOR 9, PLANB, PALMERS, DOT DASH. The job is basically looking after all athletes across all sporting codes and also handling all events that fit into one of the above brands. Also a lot of “Board meetings” ha-ha How did it come about? Must be nice to go from repping product to repping peeps! Every surfer dreams of being a professional surfer at least one time as a kid, the older you get the more reality becomes a realm! I have always enjoyed surfing, never been at that level to even consider been a pro surfer, not even a question “I am gypsy after all”! So for me it was a case of “Ok – how do I make money doing what millions love” and I’ve been chatting with GSM Marketing Manager, Chad D’Arcy, for some time and eventually the opportunity came up. Chad and I already had a cool working and personal relationship through Red Bull and Cyoh Surf Club and so here I am. As for repping peeps, NahhhJ that’s not me, young and old everyone is the same to me on equal terms, “the game of respect is the winning hand” so for me respect is earned not expected! So how big is the team you’ll be managing? Is it just local EC or national? Pretty big hay!, we looking at 11 International brands over the entire South Africa and every sporting code (mostly Surf, Skate, Snow, Wake, Downhill Skate, BMX) also we have loads of brand ambassadors in the arts and culture scene and celebrities and industry role players, so the scope is massive when you add all the numbers up! Scary actually, but really cool to see how diverse our brands are and how they can individually fit into so many different dimensions. Very cool, but a lot of work and individual focusJ What all does being a team manager entail? Athletes, sporting events, contracts, flights, late nights, a lot of surfing!! (I might turn pro after all ha-ha), admin, email, budget, individual focus, networking. It’s almost like every athlete/brand ambassador is a “small business” the amount of time you put in is the end return on investment. Handling it all with a personal touch and dealing with human emotions, that is the hard part. It’s a challenge to channel your energy effectively, but you learn and the reward of seeing your athlete do well at an event with your support is so rewarding. Great to have a PE guy in the mix – hopefully it’ll mean a bit more exposure for PE surfers who have always been overlooked in favour of their Jbay and Seals counterparts. If someone rips and has that hunger for success, I am in hay! Blue/pink/purple/black/white, I am in! Could not care if you from XzXhovwerto’iiert townJ Heard one of your first signings has been local lighties Alex Van Rijswijck. What does your sponsorship of him entail?
If I tell you, I am afraid I might cross a road, step onto a pink snail and the goooo from the snail gets stuck on my left side foot forcing me to slide into a donkey cart, this bouncing me into the road and a car hitting me so before that happens! I can’t discuss the details of Alex’s contract, but this is a kid that I saw growing as a surfer through the Cyoh Surf Offs. Then I watched him at the SA surfing championships recently, and I was certain that with the correct guidance, this is a kid that could and will go as far as he allows himself too. Dennis Ellis has been good to Alex and Paul and been sponsoring them for a while and Dennis spotted Alex’s talent a while ago. I was not going to take a back seat and so put Alex on VonZipper, Dakine, Kustom, Xcel to assist with costs (not having to buy these surf goods) and his dad Willem can rather put this cash into Alex’s coaching career. Respect to Willem who puts so much time and focus into both Alex and Pauls surfing. A great father figure to all!!! And a massive shout out to Alex and Paul who have only been surfing for 2 ½ years and already leaving most oaks behind in their tracks!!! Well done groms, you oaks are ripping and a great future ahead of you, Cyoh Surf Club and myself are right behind you all the way. VonZipper, Dakine, Kustom, Xcel and The Boardroom has your back grom all the way…now go do it!!! And then there’s the whole events side too. Is that just local – or will it be any GSM event in SA that you’ll be coordinating? A lot of events on a national scale, and local scale. I just got back from a surf event on Sunday in Cape Town and on the Saturday night was at the Cosmopolitan magazine year end party! So a diverse dynamic of events from all walks of life. Like I said, our brand portfolio really can fit into so many events different shapes and sizes. Some up and coming events I will be doing from a Billabong side over the next year
Besides the local and regional surf events, Chad and I are putting primary focus on “Billabong Roots Surfing” …so Surf clubs and school surfing. This is the place we want to be as this is where it all starts. I look at Cyoh Surf Club and West Coast Board riders, as well as J-Bay board riders and NMMU, how GSM has supported these roots of surfing and what these clubs have done blows me away. So Billabong want to spread the love and take it back to the roots and grom/junior surfing as these kids are the future of South African surfing. Don’t suppose you can give us any inside skinny on the Billabong Pro next year – any chance of it squeaking back as a WCT event? Things are looking positive and if things are as positive as they sound then the following year even more positiveJ Stay tuned! So will you be staying in Jbay now….or live in PE and commute? I am a PE boy hay! Live in PE, work in J-Bay and holiday/weekend getaway flat in Seals. I want nothing more, best of all three worlds!!! Nice one Josh, we all wish you the best for your new job – you’ll own it! Thanks Millers local, massive thanks for all you do for the local surfing community… you rock!!! |
AuthorMillerslocal Archives
July 2021
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